The Jayhawks are back together

Well, not really, but that sure has a ring to it, doesn't it? Besides, we've got something almost as good. Old friends Mark Olson and Gary Louris, (aka Mr. and Mr. Jayhawk) are back together after more than 10 years of a radio silence, in which both of them recorded solo albums and didn't speak to each other. (Tsk tsk, boys.) The buzz is that Ready for the Flood is stripped-down Jayhawks, focusing more on the boys' legendary high-lonesome harmonies and acoustic picking than any of the alt-country production that characterized their earlier work. Yes, although there are still some movers, here, including "Chamberlain, S.D.," an electric barroom rollicker, remnsicent of Rainy Day Music's "Come to the River." For the nerds, of course, there's trying to get a handle on how their songwriting has settled and matured in the last 10 years. But the real joy, of course, is sitting back and listening to these guys' voices intertwine -- nothing's been lost, thank God, and nobody since the Louvin Brothers has done this sound better.

I wish I could say the two will be on their way to New York in the near future, but alas, they won't. Their two shows at Minneapolis' Varsity Theater this weekend are sold out, of course. For the lucky, here's where they'll be:

Feb 15 Sun Louisville, KY
Phoenix Hill Tavern
Feb 17 Tue St. Louis, MO Blueberry Hill
Feb 18 Wed Columbia, MO Mojo’s
Feb 19 Thu Cedar Rapids, IA CSPS
Feb 20 Fri Chicago, IL Park West
Feb 21 Sat Minneapolis, MN Varsity
Feb 22 Sun Minneapolis, MN Varsity

For more Jayhawkiana, I recommend Chris Riemenschneider's in-depth profile of the twosome on Startribune.com, as well as Olson and Louris's MySpace.